A post from the slanty room.

Have I told you about our slanty room? As this is an old house (and jam-packed with ghosts! I mean, probably), the floors are all sloped, one way or the other. But in one room—the room that is to be my office, I get my own office!—the floor dips so dramatically toward the center of the room, it’s like you’re in a funhouse. A boring funhouse. And unfortunately, both my desk and chair are on casters. So as I’m writing, the desk is rolling toward me, and I’m hanging on to the keyboard tray to keep from rolling back further, which causes the desk to roll some more. So by the end of my precious Internet time, I’m smack dab in the middle of the room.

Take the casters off the desk and chairs, I can hear you thinking. Yes, I know. I just haven’t done it yet. But I will! Right after I roll over that 401(K) from 1997.

Hey! I got a job. My former employer, a corporate behemoth that treated me kindly back in the 20th century, has called on me. I will work from home for them. And they will give me money! So this works out for both of us. This is about as much detail as you will get out of me about my new job, which really isn’t that interesting, and don’t you love it when I’m this vague? Does it make me mysterious, or just boring? Boringly mysterious?

Anyway, because I have this real job now (part-time, from home, yay), I hired a babysitter. This is a first for me. Henry always had the benefit of being looked after by a relative or close friend. I always had the benefit of not having to hire someone. And oh Internet, the whole thing makes me uncomfortable. The whole stranger-in-my-house-with-my-sweet-boy thing. It’s not even like I’m leaving them alone. I’m going to be upstairs! And probably running downstairs at regular intervals!

His new sitter is eminently qualified—frankly, more qualified than I am to be left alone with a child. I still feel odd about the whole affair. It took me many weeks to even start looking for someone, because of the oddness. Maybe she’s a lunatic! Who will take my child! And sell him to, hmm, an organization! A mismanaged one!

Also, when I'm with him, I often wish he were elsewhere, and when he’s with someone else, I mostly want him to be with me. She’ll be here every morning (only for the next few weeks, until his summer camp starts) and already I’m wistful about our, uh, special mornings together. When I would try to get him dressed, and he would yell. When he demanded ice cream, and when I refused, punched me in the thigh. Oh, sweet memories!

Aaaand I'm rolling away again. Goodbye!

Comments

[Hope]

What did you end up deciding about Henry's school and the cranky teacher?

[Code Yellow Mom]

I'll trade your slanty room for the card table / household dumping ground that's in the corner of my master bedroom. :)

Strange how those magical mornings with a pre-schooler are mind-numbing when you're in them, but so nostalgic when they're coming to an end. I think it's one of the finest ironies of motherhood.

I totally know the stranger-in-my-house-with-my-sweet-boy-thing. But I think my uneasiness all too soon shifts to a stranger-seeing-how-long-it's-been-since-I-did-the-laundry-or-dishes thing.

[HollowSquirrel]

Yay on the part-time work from home job! Congrats. And good news about the sitter. I scored the name of a fabulous sitter this weekend, and it was better than winning the lotto. Anyway, sounds like things are falling/rolling into place.

[clickmom]

I too had a slanty floor issue, except our house is not all that old, only poorly built. Our slanty floor is in the entry way and there many times I skated in my socks over to the door to greet surprised people on the other side, like the UPS guy or the chinese food delivery man, who most likely heard the scream of terror right through the door. I finally solved that problem with an area rug. Seems simle, but it took me 4 years.

Tip of the day: Get a rug while your tailbone is still intact.

[Neb]

Hurrah for the slanty-room!

And here's to staying level-headed at your new job.

[Moxie]

I would put the desk and chair in the lowest point in the room, and then buy one of those dollies auto mechanics lie on to slide underneath cars (basically a rolling tray) and leave it at the door. Then I'd yell downstairs for Henry to bring me a beer, er, soda and he could trot up and put it on the dolly and roll it to me.

But that's just me.

[Mom101]

As one who has tried the working-from-home thing for the past ten months, I can only say you will be delighted to have the services of a sitter. It's the best of both worlds; you can peek in on Henry between conference calls, but you don't have to actually hang up on the conference calls because he's punching you/asking for a cookie/singing "You're Not the Boss of Me Now" at the top of his lungs.

Congrats on a very auspicious arrangement.

[margalit]

In our old house, the house had been moved from one location to another, and when they put it on our foundation, something sank and one side was almost a foot lower than the other. It was fine except for my office, which was like yours. I'd push away from the desk and end up across the room. If I sat down in a hurry, the chair would roll and I'd end up on the floor. But I got used to it, and now in our new house we don't have such a slant and I kind of miss it. I don't miss the doors that wouldn't close due to the slant, or the groaning stairs that felt like they would collapse under me, but that office sure was fun.

Congrats on the new job. I hope it works out with the baby sitter and you get into a nice pleasant routine.

[Mary Tsao]

Good luck with the job and the sitter and the slanty room. Hope summer is nice in the 'burbs.

[Krisco]

Well, good for you! I understand the weirdnesses - about the boy and the sitter, not so much the rolling desk, although I too have lived in old houses with their own eccentricities - and need to roll over an old 401K - but I've digressed - anyway, good for you, I hope you like it and it relieves some financial burdens, and gives you back something of yourself. Phew.

I'm hoping to do the same when I start part-time in a couple week - although not from home - after 4 yrs at home. After some fifteen or so as an actual worker gal.

[honestyrain]

i am beginning to think that i would like an income. only, what income. i mean, yes, a LARGE income, but doing just what is the queastion. i will leave it up to you to formulate a plan on my behalh because a, i don't wanna do it and b, i think it is a plan best formulated in the slanty room, obviously.

i await your idea!

[Motherhood Uncensored]

Yeah. Taking off casters would probably be way last on the my list. Sadly, I'd probably rig something up (like a fancy wad of napkin) so they wouldn't roll.

[jes]

A job! This is all so sudden. And grown-up-like. And sudden.

Congratulations! I hope for you that the babysitter doesn't eat Henry. Or worse, give him ice cream for breakfast. Unless she gives you some, also, and then it is okay.

[Lucille]

I have been working from home FULL TIME (except for 1 day in the office) for the last 3.5 years of my son's life (He is 3.5)... and when I read your post about having scored the part-time gig (congrats) to do from home (lucky duck) AND had ALREADY signed on with a babysitter for the mornings, I was thinking, YOU ARE ONE SMARK COOKIE!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE ALREADY THOUGHT TO DO THAT!!! HOW COME I DIDN'T THINK OF THAT SOON ENOUGH???

If I had to do it all over again, I would have done the same thing. For at least a few hours a day.. But I didn't think I had the money for that, so I didn't ponder the possibility. And I made it work. But I am much grayer now... Oh, and my husband is gone...

I don't really attribute those two things to my having tried to handle the world on my two bony shoulders all myself. But it kind of seems that way sometimes.

So don't fret too much about the babysitter. You will be glad you did it. Trust me. And though I totally feel what you feel when you said "Also, when I'm with him, I often wish he were elsewhere, and when he’s with someone else, I mostly want him to be with me", in the long run, you'll be a much saner person...

I may get a babysitter for a few hours 2 days a week this summer. I keep thinking I should. Before I lose it. (Although I really think I lost it a long time ago...)

Although last year, I did "Rent-A-Kid" and had the sweetest girl come over once a week, but she was only 13 and it was like having TWO CHILDREN here while I was working. So I stopped that arrangement soon enough. Right after I found myself on a conferece call on MUTE while scooping ice cream into cones for my son, the babysitter and her 15 year old brother who I hired to mow my lawn but who managed to go thru a tank of gas each time because he just LOVED riding that tractor at top speed around the trees over and over and over...

I'm going to stick with adults from now on!

[Renee Dodd]

Please take off the casters before you get pinned to the wall on the lowest side of your office! All the metaphors we use about the traps of writing and the internet could come terribly to life! Save yourself!!!

[Vikki]

We too have a slanty room! I remember my son rolling down the hill in his bedroom...

[Velma]

The comfort level with the new babysitter will increase dramatically, especially when you have the opportunity to hover at will and see how all the interactions are going. Soon enough, you will learn to ignore almost any noise, and after that, you will be shooing them out the door and forbiding them to return for hours. You will hand over wads of cash and say, "Farewell, my love! Have fun! Don't eat too much crap, or get any tattoos, and don't you dare come home before 3 p.m.!"

[Faith]

LOL!! You are too funny! Might want to think about taking those casters off though! HEHE!

[lori]

In my old apartment in NY all of the floors slanted toward the kitchen, where the shower used to be. Most of our furniture was on books on one side and I always slept on the edge of the bed because otherwise I'd have to roll uphill. But I didn't have room for such luxuries as an actual desk chair with casters--I had to use a folding chair so that I could fold it up and be able to get at the door. Still, I like a place with character. So much better than the sterile new beige places. Enjoy!

[zoom!]

Maybe you could get a nanny-cam and spy on the sitter and Henry from upstairs in the slanty room while you work. Just kidding. He'll be fine, it'll be good for him, and you'll be okay too after awhile.

[Jaycee]

Look at you and all these other bloggers (Melissa & Amalah)with your new work-from- home jobs!! Good for you! Makes me think I should have developed some skills along the way...Oh, well! Next life for sure! PS Your old house sure sounds cool!

[Chris]

You sound like you deserve your own office though, with all the changes that have been happening. And maybe keep the casters close by in case you get stressed out and need a bit of rolling fun!

[Bettie Bookish]

Our house was a 1-room schoolhouse in the 1850s, and our dining room is particularly slanty. I pretend we're dining in the galley of our pirate ship. Ahoy!

[Deb]

Congrats on the job at home and slanty room! Gives the house character and keeps the ghosts busy. The job will keep you busy and perhaps help with the stabby-ness. It will definately help with the mortgage.Babysitters in the house make me really weirded out too. From both sides, I remember being the babysitter. I don't mind the sitting as much as having to clean up for them to just come into the house.

[Jenn]

Could that be more charming? A slanty floor?? This is very good stuff! A job AND a slanty floor! I am so excited for you, and slavishly envious about the home office. A writerly den. What color are the walls?